Ross Pearson
Ross Pearson is a lightweight and featherweight fighter. He is the lightweight winner of the ninth season of TUF. First Run At Lightweight He most recently faced Cole Miller. Miller defeated Pearson impressively via second round rear-naked choke after dropping him with a blistering combination of left hooks and right hands. Pearson suffered a knee injury in the loss and underwent surgery. After recovering, he next faced striker Spencer Fisher, winning via unanimous decision. He was next rumored to face WEC veteran and UFC newcomer Bart Palaszewski. Instead, he faced fellow prospect Edson Barboza, losing via a very close and entertaining split decision. Featherweight Run A few months after the bout, Pearson officially announced his decision to drop down to featherweight. He is next set to make his debut against well-rounded veteran Junior Assuncao. Before the fight with Assuncao, Pearson passionately claimed that he wanted a shot at Jose Aldo's featherweight title in 2012. Pearson defeated Assuncao via a very close split decision. He was next rumored to be fighting a rematch against another featherweight debutant and former rival Dennis Siver. Instead, Siver was set to face Diego Nunes, leaving Pearson without an opponent for the foreseeable future. After another month or two of uncertainty, Pearson signed to face WEC veteran Cub Swanson in what was sure to be a barnburner for the ages. After a technical striking war, Swanson knocked Pearson out in the fight's second round. Second Run At Lightweight Pearson next decided to move up to lightweight as he coached the British vs. Australian season of The Ultimate Figher opposite fellow TUF vet and Australian George Sotiropoulos. At the end of the season, Pearson faced Sotiropoulos in the five-round finale main event in December 2012, knocking Sotiropoulos out with a spectacular combination of punches in the fight's third round. Pearson next signed in February 2013 to welcome Strikeforce veteran Ryan Couture to the UFC. Pearson TKOed Couture in the second round impressively. After a decent layoff, Pearson signed to fight perennial gatekeeper Melvin Guillard. The two went to war for what short time the MMA gods alotted them before Guillard cut Pearson on the forehead with an accidental but blatantly illegal knee to the downed Brit. The fight was ruled a no-contest and an immediate rematch was scheduled that night for the UFC's return to England in March 2014. Pearson was unfortunately injured and replaced by Michael Johnson. Trading Losses and Wins - Back and Forth After recovering Pearson signed to fight fellow TUF winner and veteran Diego Sanchez in Sanchez's hometown of Albuquerque. Pearson dominated Sanchez for nearly the entire fifteen minutes that the fight took place. Sanchez's hometown judges awarded him the audaciously controversial split decision victory and Pearson appealed the decision unsuccessfully. UFC president Dana White stated that the promotion would advance with Pearson -- paying him his win bonus and giving him a step up in competition -- as if the Brit had defeated Sanchez after all. Pearson expressed interest in fighting veteran Joe Lauzon. Pearson next fought veteran wrestler Gray Maynard knocking out Maynard in the second round after an exciting fight. Pearson then fought striker Al Iaquinta losing via a stunning second round upset knockout. Pearson then signed to fight striker Sam Stout. Pearson and Stout predictably went to war with Pearson pulling off a stunning second round knockout. Pearson next faced Evan Dunham losing a tepidly paced unanimous decision in which Pearson was clearly frustrated about Dunham's 'pointfighting' tactics. He then fought Paul Felder, winning an extremely exciting, grueling and entertaining split decision. Both men expressed interest in dialing back that scrap in the future. Pearson next faced Francisco Trinaldo losing via a clearcut unanimous decision in what was a slight upset before next winning a split decision against Chad Laprise who was a late replacement for Abel Trujillo. Pearson was next set to face James Krause who was unfortunately replaced by UFC newcomer and former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks. Brooks defeated Pearson via an entertaining and relatively close unanimous decision. Pearson next stepped up to welterweight on short notice replacing Siyar Bahadurzada against veteran Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal defeated Pearson via an entertaining unanimous decision. Pearson dropped back to lightweight immediately, signing for a rescheduled bout with James Krause. Krause was injured AGAIN and replaced by Stevie Ray. Fights *Kurt Warburton vs. Ross Pearson - The bout was their third and final one and the only one to feature on their professional records. The first was a draw and the second was a submission (armbar) victory for Pearson. *Ross Pearson vs. Andre Winner - The fight was to decide the winner of the lightweight division of the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. The fight was the official UFC debut of both men. *Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley *Ross Pearson vs. Dennis Siver 1 *Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson *Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher *Ross Pearson vs. Ryan Couture - The fight was the UFC debut of Ryan Couture. *Evan Dunham vs. Ross Pearson *Francisco Trinaldo vs. Ross Pearson *Will Brooks vs. Ross Pearson Category:Ultimate Fighter winners Category:Lightweight fighters Category:British fighters Category:Featherweight fighters